According to a group that exists for the purpose of encouraging Jews to go to the Temple Mount/Haram al Sharif, the number of Jews doing so in 2017 was up 75% from the previous year. That group, “Yeraeh-Volunteers encouraging ascent to the Temple Mount” claimed in a Facebook posted (reported on byHaaretz) that in 2017, 25,628 Jews visited the site, versus 14,626 in 2016.

We are unfamiliar with the methodology of the source of this data and therefore cannot vouch for the accuracy of the data; however, the figures cited by Yeraeh appear credible, and the trends they describe are indisputable (for background on this trend, see our analysis published in 2012 on foreignpolicy.com).

The fact that there is a quantum spike in the numbers and frequency of visits by those Jewish activists who provocatively display their goal of changing the status quo on the Temple Mount/Haram al Sharif should be borne in mind when official Israel waxes eloquent about the way the status quo on the site is being scrupulously maintained (for background on how to understand the status quo, see our comprehensive explainer here).